The College of Law Legal Clinic’s recent 75th anniversary celebration brought together more than 250 people and raised $400,000 in pledges and contributions to help fund a clinical teaching fellowship endowment.
With a $250,000 gift from alumnus Rick Rose (’74), Director of Clinical Programs Joy Radice said the Legal Clinic will be able to launch one of the fellowships beginning in the Fall 2023 semester, even before the $2.5 million endowment is fully funded.
Additional gifts received in conjunction with the 75th anniversary celebration, including a $125,000 gift from Marcos Garza (’01), a $10,000 gift from alumna Ann Pruitt (’93) and her husband Ron Pruitt; and a $5,000 gift from alumnus John Dawson (’08) and his wife Ginger Dawson, also helped jumpstart a campaign that will continue throughout the coming year, Radice said.
“The launch of this major endowment and the growing financial support has been tremendous,” Radice said. “We are so grateful for the support from this seed funding that has truly helped make our vision a reality.”
As one of the top 20 legal clinics in the country, the College of Law Legal Clinic offers all law students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in legal practice in the areas of advocacy, business transactions, domestic violence, expungement, mediation and wills.
Despite its popularity, one glaring difference between the College of Law Legal Clinic and other higher-ranked peer clinical programs is the funding of multiple clinic teaching fellows that enhance the work of the clinic, Radice said.
More than 120 students annually enroll in the Legal Clinic courses and many of the students enroll in more than one. But without additional resources, it’s difficult to expand that outreach and further the clinic’s impact with students and within the community.
“The need for legal assistance in the communities we serve far exceeds the supply of law student attorneys,” Radice said. “Every clinic runs a client waitlist or has to close intake during the semester.”
With the funds secured thus far, the College of Law will begin the search for a clinical teaching fellow to begin next year with the goal of hiring even more fellows in the following year. Clinical teaching fellow candidates are lawyers with five years of practice experience who have the desire to become legal clinic teachers. The fellows will train with and work alongside clinic professors, prepare clinic student attorneys for the profession and increase the number of clients the clinic serves.
The fellows will also pursue scholarship, develop course material, and undertake research. Ideally, these fellows will teach at the College of Law for two to three years in preparation to become permanent clinical faculty members at institutions throughout the country.
While the Legal Clinic’s 75th anniversary celebration provided attendees an opportunity to reflect on the history and its position as a nationally recognized leader in clinical legal education, Radice has her eyes set on the future.
Pruitt along with alumna Beth Ford (‘77) will work to further that fundraising effort by leading a committee to raise support for the clinical teaching fellowships.
“Without any doubt the clinic was the highlight of my time at the law school,” Ford said. “This is a critical time in the history of the clinic, and what better time is there to undertake a fundraising event.”
Radice said she has been overwhelmed by the generosity thus far.
“By creating this fellowship program, we will be in a position to enhance our national reputation as a top legal clinic in the country,” Radice said. “We look forward to what is to come.”